In the last year, many Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

Hyatt Hotels Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The President, Mark Hoplamazian, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$7.4m worth of shares at a price of US$160 each. While we don't usually like to see insider selling, it's more concerning if the sales take place at a lower price. The good news is that this large sale was at well above current price of US$143. So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

All up, insiders sold more shares in Hyatt Hotels than they bought, over the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

I will like Hyatt Hotels better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued and small cap stocks with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insiders At Hyatt Hotels Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Hyatt Hotels shares. In total, Independent Director Michael Rocca dumped US$178k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. Overall this makes us a bit cautious, but it's not the be all and end all.

Insider Ownership Of Hyatt Hotels

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Hyatt Hotels insiders own 10% of the company, currently worth about US$1.5b based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Hyatt Hotels Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Hyatt Hotels stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Hyatt Hotels is growing earnings. While insiders do own a lot of shares in the company (which is good), our analysis of their transactions doesn't make us feel confident about the company. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. At Simply Wall St, we've found that Hyatt Hotels has 3 warning signs (1 is significant!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis.

But note: Hyatt Hotels may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.